A cyclist got far more than he bargained for during a morning ride in the City of Matlosana Local Municipality in the North West on Monday.
The man was cycling along a wet road shortly before 8am when he suddenly disappeared into a large puddle. The muddy water had concealed a deep pothole, sending the bicycle’s front wheel into the hole and pulling the rider down with it.
The incident was captured on CCTV and later shared online, where it attracted more than 66,000 views. The footage shows the cyclist travelling along the road before vanishing into the water-filled opening.
A man walking in the opposite direction immediately ran to help. He pulled the cyclist out of the hole by the arm and then tried to retrieve the bicycle from the flooded opening.
The cyclist appeared to be in shock. After being helped out, he looked down at his soaked jersey and bent over to catch his breath.
The footage has prompted concern about the dangers posed by damaged roads, burst water pipes and poor maintenance, particularly in areas where deep holes can be hidden by rainwater and mud.
Burst pipe blamed for hole
DA Matlosana caucus leader Gerhard Strydom said a burst water pipe had caused the hole. He pointed to the water visibly pushing up through the road at the beginning of the footage.
“You can see in the beginning of the video, the water is pumping up… the pipe burst caused a hole to be formed and that poor guy drove just straight into it,” Strydom said, adding that he didn’t know how long it took to close the valve and stop the water.
Strydom said incidents in which a water leak continued for long enough to create a hole capable of swallowing a person were uncommon. However, he said the incident reflected broader concerns about service delivery in the municipality.
“Service delivery is not up to any standard that’s expected from a community that deserves proper service delivery,” he said.
According to Strydom, burst water pipes in the municipality could run for hours before the water was shut off. He said sewage leaks could take days to repair, while ageing roads were affected by potholes and poor lighting.
The lack of street lighting was another concern because it could make hazards such as potholes more difficult to see, especially at night or during bad weather.
Unfunded budget criticised
Strydom said the municipality’s problems were not necessarily caused by officials refusing to work, but by a lack of equipment and money to deal with the infrastructure failures.
“The root cause of that is an unfunded budget,” he said, adding that it was the sixth year in a row that the municipality approved an unfunded budget.
He explained that an unfunded budget meant the municipality expected to receive income that did not materialise. This left officials without enough money to buy equipment or respond quickly to infrastructure problems.
“It’s like going into the shop with R10, but expecting to buy goods worth R20 – it won’t happen,” he said.
Strydom said the shortage of funds affected services across the municipality, including repairs to roads, water systems, sewage infrastructure and electricity networks.
“Electricity too – currently the northern suburbs, Wilkoppies [a large suburb] it’s day three without electricity. And they’re still busy fixing it,” he said, adding that the municipality had located the faults and they were hoping to fix it on Tuesday night.
The municipality had been asked for comment on the cyclist’s accident and the burst pipe, but no response was included in the available report.
WATCH 🎥
CCTV video shows man and his bike swallowed by a huge pothole in Klerksdorp CBD. https://t.co/yOGrmsDiWN
— NORTH WEST TIMES (@NorthWesTimes) October 6, 2026
Residents react to footage
The video drew strong reactions from people who feared that a child or another vulnerable road user could have fallen into the hole.
One social-media user wrote: “Imagine if it were a child who fell in. The lack of service delivery and basic upkeep of the infrastructure from our government is infuriating.”
Another praised the man who stopped to help the cyclist: “For me, it’s the guy that rushed to give a helping hand. I love us.”
A further reaction expressed disbelief at how quickly someone could disappear into a road hazard.
“Magtig,” exclaimed another, “so you can actually disappear while walking on the road. Swallowed by the road.”
Another person commented: “Bro! Imagine drowning in the middle of the street …mara our government.”
The cyclist’s condition was not reported as serious, and the footage showed him able to stand after being pulled from the hole. However, the incident has raised questions about how quickly the hazard was identified, whether the pipe was repaired and whether the road was made safe for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
For the man who went out for a routine ride, the morning ended with a frightening plunge into a hidden hole. For residents, the incident has become a vivid warning about what can happen when leaking infrastructure, heavy rain and delayed maintenance combine on a public road.